Tag Archives: birth preferences

As I get ready for my 38 week OB appointment tomorrow, I feel the need to just ‘blog it out.’ Ya know . . . as a way to relieve some tension and stress from last week’s appointment. I’m maintaining ‘shadow care’ with the only OB I know in town who would ‘tolerate’ babysitting an ill-advised VBA2C in the hospital. Only thing – I’m not planning on going to the hospital. However, I’ve been encouraged to keep up this disingenuous relationship just in case I do need to transfer during or following the birth.

CEFM, IV, yada yada. Ok, whatever. I’ll agree to the monitoring assuming they have telemetry. I’ll consent to heplock but not an active IV.

As soon as I’m in labor, I’m to go directly to L&D. (Yeah, right, doc. I’ll do that.)

I asked him why my rupture risk is increased since they went through the old cesarean scar. His response: “Because it just is.” My response: “Come on, you know that’s not a good enough answer for me!”

When I told him that I gestate longer than 40 weeks, he said “that’s bad!”

Doesn’t believe vaginal delivery is best for healthy babies (?!?!?!?!!!!!)

Places VBAC in the “want” not need category, though he seems to understand that I have my reasons

Doesn’t seem to believe that the pelvis expands during pregnancy and birth? The only way to get more room would be to break my pelvis (not that he was suggesting that route). Does he not ‘get’ the physiology of birth? Does he not understand the role of hormones in preparing the body to birth??

Seems to consider 37 weeks as term . . . not early term as I suggested. (A newly released NIH study asserts that babies born in the 37th and 38th weeks are more likely to die before age 1 than babies born in the 39th and 40th weeks.)

“You know I’d prefer not to do this.” In response to my objections over having him and an anesthesiologist breathing down my neck during my entire labor and birth. Which is a mis-representation anyway of what would actually happen. If I’m in labor during the day, he can continue seeing his patients. If I’m in labor at night, he’s welcome to go sleep somewhere in the hospital or at his office. And our hospital has 24-hr anesthesia immediately available, so he shouldn’t be guilting me about an anesthesiologist having to be there for my labor. If a hospital isn’t safe for a VBAC . . . . it’s not safe for any birth.

Wow, when I write all of that down, I just get angry. I’m going to crawl under the covers with my Hypnobabies tracks, strengthen my bubble of peace, work on fear cleansing, listen to my pregnancy affirmations, and call it a day. My husband will go with me tomorrow to my appointment, so I imagine it will be uneventful. I have a mind to bring in my “birth preferences” just to see how the doc would react, but really . . . is it worth it? Probably not. At this point, I’m no longer interested in his opinion because he continues to skew the ‘truth.’ I don’t want to argue about laboring in water or delayed cord clamping or any of it.

Point is – I’m not going to the hospital to have this baby unless the need arises before, during, or after the birth. I fully recognize that at any point between now and my birthing time, that I may need hospital services. My husband and I will decide if we agree with recommendations to abort our homebirth plans. Otherwise, I’m not planning on needing the hospital or an obstetrician. So the last thing I want to do tomorrow morning is have an off-putting, destabilizing, stress-inducing discussion with someone who begrudgingly is putting up with my wingnut idea to have a natural birth but very vocal about what all “will” go wrong.